Necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, is a serious disease that affects the intestines of premature infants. It typically happens within the first 2 weeks of life in babies who are fed formula instead of breast milk.

Symptoms can differ from child to child. But an infant who has NEC will normally develop the following conditions in the first two weeks of life:

How is NEC Diagnosed?
Your child’s doctor will take an X-ray of their abdomen and do some blood tests, usually in the neonatal intensive care unit. If it’s NEC, the X-ray will show gas or air bubbles in the wall of their intestine. The doctor may also insert a needle into your baby’s abdomen. If fluid leaks out, that’s a sign there’s a hole in their intestines. Blood tests for infants with NEC show low white blood counts. That means your baby’s ability to fight infection is weakened.

Treatment depends on a number of factors, including how premature your baby is, their overall health and medical history, and how far the infection has spread.

Then, your doctor may do any of these things:

Once the infection is gone (typically in 5 to 7 days), your baby can start feeding again by mouth.

If your child doesn’t get better with treatment or has a hole in their intestine, they’ll need surgery. This involves removing dead tissue and the parts of the intestine that have ruptured or are about to rupture. In the most serious cases, children who have surgery may need to have their intestine or bowel connected to an opening in the abdomen. Doctors call this an “ostomy.”